The Other Way Around
by happyndhilarious
Summary: It's Lily Evans' seventh school year and she has some things to deal with. Her sister ignores her, an old friend appears to want more than friendship and even James Potter seems to have changed. Lily has to choose between the easy way and the right one.
1. Home Again

**Alright, so I decided to post a Marauder fanfic. It's mainly about Lily Evans' seventh year in which she learns to believe in love, to decide between good and bad and to deal with some dangerous and exciting adventures. Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter".**

The Other Way Around

Holidays had finally begun. Children ran out of school, smiling and looking happy, and went home. So did eighteen year old Petunia.

Her mother stood in the kitchen and was cooking. When Petunia entered she looked up and beamed at her. "There you are. I was wondering where you are."

Petunia shrugged. "Talking to some friends", she said. Her mother nodded. "To this… Vernon?" She looked worried.

Petunia played with her bracelet. "I like him. He's very… determined." "But don't you think he… he's very strong, take care of yourself."

Petunia rolled her eyes. Then she asked hesitantly: "Isn't Lily here yet?" "Your father is fetching her", her mother said and took out some plates. "Petunia, darling, would you take the cutlery?" "Sure", Petunia said.

Together they prepared lunch. Petunia sat down and took the newspaper. Her mother leaned against the bar, waiting for the rest of the family to arrive.

When the bell rang her face lighted up and she hurried to the front door.

"Lily! I missed you so badly, honey."

Petunia put away the newspaper and crossed her arms. When her father entered the kitchen and saw her sitting at the table he said amused: "Petunia, good to see you. Don't you want to welcome your sister back?"

Petunia said nothing. She threw the hair out of her face and remained silent.

Her mother came in and shouted: "Come on in, darling, lunch is ready."

At last Lily entered and Petunia lifted her head to look at her.

She was carrying a bag and her red hair fell down her back. She had a healthy brown skin tone and freckles all over her face. Her green eyes eyed the kitchen and finally fell on her sister.

"Tuney", she said smiling, "I missed you."

_Liar_, Petunia thought.

Lily hesitated. Then she put down her bag and approached Petunia to embrace her.

Petunia didn't move and looked down with a grim expression.

Lily stopped next to her, unsure what do to, and shrugged, sighing quietly. Their parents were in a fierce conversation about petrol consumption. They hadn't noticed Petunia refusing to greet Lily properly.

"Jane, why don't you want to serve lunch?", Mr. Evans ended the conversation. Jane nodded quickly and scurried over to the range.

Mr Evans sat down opposite to his daughters and beamed at them. Jane prepared the salad. "Lily, you've got to tell us everything. How was your school year? Tell us everything."

Lily nodded, smiling. "I will, if you want to listen, Mom." "Of course. Do you know now how to wash clothes without washing machine?"

Lily laughed. "I do." Jane seemed to glow, her cheeks were red and her eyes were sparkling.

When she saw Petunia's annoyed face she snapped: "Petunia, what's wrong? Ask your sister something already."

Petunia opened her mouth to give an angry response but her father glanced at her warningly and she said nothing.

Jane served and they ate in silence. Lily asked how Dumbo, her dog, was and her mother assured her everything was OK.

After the last bite was bitten Jane stood up and started to clean up.

"Petunia, c'mon, help me with this. I can't do this all alone."

Petunia stood up abruptly and her chair fell down, rattling. Her hands were clenched to fists and her face was red.

"Why?", she yelled. "Why can't Lily do that?"

"Honey, Lily's just arrived. She surely has to unpack her bags." "But she only has to swing her wand and everything just happens", Petunia cried. "She doesn't even have to do something." Her voice became desperate. "How can you not understand this?"

With that she left the room and a moment later the door of her room was closed loudly.

For a moment they said nothing. Jane had tears in her eyes and stared out of the window. Mr Evans looked down, embarrassed.

Lily bit her lips and said quietly: "It's alright, I… I can do this." She reached for her plate, but Jane stopped her. "No, it's alright. Go unpack your stuff", she said, quietly but determinately.

"But Mom…" Go", Jane cried, "I have to be for myself right now."

Lily nodded quickly and left the room. Her father followed.

After closing the kitchen door softly he turned towards his youngest daughter and put his hands on her shoulders. "I think it would be good if you… talk to you sister. Carefully, just… you know." He looked at her pleadingly.

Lily nodded. "Yes, I'll… go and talk to her." Her father smiled at her. Lily took her trunk and lifted it up the stairs into her room.

She pushed the door open and sighed deeply. Dumbo jumped up and down in front of her and Lily hugged him.

"Dumbo, I've missed you", she whispered. Dumbo licked her cheeks and wagged his tail.

Lily slumped to her bed and buried her face in her hands.

She hadn't been prepared for Petunia's attack. It had upset her, how much Petunia had to hate her to yell at her like that.

She sighed quietly. Then she opened her trunk hesitantly and pulled out a white envelope. It was James'. Once again. But this time Lily knew it had to be important, because James had been very serious when he had given it to her.

Carefully she opened it and took the letter. It was the typical Hogwarts parchment. She unfolded it. No hearts, no flowers or other things had been drawn onto it. Only some lines in James' typical handwriting had been written.

She took a deep breath and started reading.

_Lily,_

_I know that you don't want to hear how much I like you. And I don't want to annoy you anymore, I acted like I've always done, not knowing that I could hurt someone with my behavior. Whether you believe me or not, I want to change. I won't fool around or tell silly jokes if you don't want me to. I just want you to tell me what I'm supposed to do. Because I would do everything for you. Everything. And I'm sorry if I did something that made you sad. I hope you accept my apologize I'm really serious about. You don't have to reply. We'll see us._

_In love and honesty, without jokes and other intentions than to apologize,_

_James P._

Lily sat on her bad, speechless, and stared at the letters. A tear rolled down her cheek and landed on the letter.

Lily knew that James was serious this time. She felt it. Nobody could come up with something like this and not be serious about it.

When someone knocked at the door Lily hastily wiped away the tears and pushed the letter under her bed. "Yeah?", she then said loudly.

Her mother came in. Her eyes were reddened and she quickly stuffed her handkerchief into her pocket.

"I brought you your bag", she said and tried to smile.

Lily stood up and took it from her. "Thanks." She hesitated. "Did you speak to Petunia?" "No", Jane said and chewed on her lips. "I… I wouldn't know what to say. She doesn't have to be so mean to you."

Lily shook her head. "I don't care if Petunia yells at me. Though I think it's sad that she doesn't… accept me like I am she's my sister and…" She shrugged.

Jane's eyes filled with tears. "Oh honey, you're so brave", she sniffed and hugged Lily. "Will you talk to her?"

Lily nodded.

"Alright, good luck." Jane smiled and left the room.

Lily took a deep breath and knocked at Petunia's door.

"What?", Petunia's voice snapped.

"I want to talk to you", Lily said and opened the door.

"Get out", Petunia growled.

She sat in her chair and hugged her knees. The radio was on and boomed through the room, which looked even untidier than usually. Clothes, tins and papers lay on the floor.

Lily stepped in. Petunia looked up and snapped: "Didn't you hear me? Get out!"

"I just want to talk to you, Tuney", Lily said but Petunia interrupted. "Don't call me that."

Lily burst. "Petunia, I don't know what your problem is. I didn't do anything to you. For seven years now you've treated me incredibly. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I will apologize now; I don't know for what, though, but I'll do it because I… I love you and I miss you. Just understand."

Tears ran down Lily's cheek when she turned around and left the room. The door fell shut loudly.

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**I hope you liked it so far. Please read & review.**


	2. Looking For Tuney

**Thank you so much for you reviews. Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter"**

It was the third week after begin of holidays. Petunia had hardly gotten out of her room and not talked to anyone. She was the first to leave the house and the last to get back. Her parents became desperate.

Lily met with her friends several times. She had met Hailey and Bridget in her first year. Hailey was in Hufflepuff, Bridget in Gryffindor. They had been in the same boat that brought them to school and were talking after some minutes.

It was a sunny Wednesday in July when the door bell rang. Lily shouted: "I'll open", and hurried down the stairs to the door. Her father sat in the kitchen and read the newspaper, her mother was outside. Petunia was already out, meeting some friends.

Lily opened. In front of her stood Amber, a Ravenclaw girl, who was in the same year as Lily, but who Lily didn't really know and didn't really want to know.

She threw her long blond hair over her shoulder and smiled at Lily brightly. "Hey."

Lily looked at her in surprise. "Um, hey, Amber. How are you?"

Amber shrugged. "Alright. Can I come in?"

"Sure", Lily said quickly and let her in. Surprised she watched Amber throwing her bag on the couch and sitting down.

"I don't want to be rude", Lily began, "but what are you doing here? Why do you know where I live?"

Amber smiled patiently. "Your friends told me. I asked… Brenda…?" "Bridget", Lily corrected quickly. "Right. So I talked to Bridget. I have a question, she told me you could help me."

"Tell me", Lily suggested and sat down.

Amber seemed to consider. "You know something about this muggle make-up, don't you?" "Um, not really…"

Amber smiled. "I need your advice. Would you wear red eye shadow with red or pink lipstick?"

Lily stared at her. "I guess… I guess pink…" "Okay", Amber continued eagerly, "when you wore a blue dress would wear transparent or notable lip stick?"

"Transparent, I guess", Lily said, "but I really have no idea. Why don't you ask your friends? Surely they know something like that." Amber hesitated. Then she shrugged. "Maybe. I'll ask them. Thanks for your advices."

Lily smiled and said: "Have nice holidays, Amber." Amber smiled and nodded, then she turned around and left the house. Lily closed the door behind her.

Shaking her head, she went up the stairs into her room and cried out.

Everywhere were pink heart shaped balloons. Petals lay on the floor and a magic pink source of light lighted up the room.

In the center of the room stood James, wearing a shirt and shorts, his hair sticking out as usually, and gave her a bright smile.

"Surprise", he yelled and threw his arms in the air.

Lily stared at him. "What… what are you doing here?", she asked, blushing.

James approached her. "You read my letter, did you?", he asked, uncertain.

Lily's face flushed an even deeper red. She nodded quickly. "I… yes, I did."

"Good." James shyly beamed at her. "I meant every word. Everything." "I do believe you, but…"

Lily hesitated.

James's face was near her own. She could feel his breath on her cheek. Lily saw his lips and suddenly she knew that James did mean every word.

She closed her eyes and leaned forward until her lips touched his.

James put his arms around her shoulder and he let her go for a moment to smile at her. "I love you, Lily", he whispered.

Lily opened her eyes.

"What about Amber? Did you send her?"  
James blushed. "I had to prepare this all."

"Give… give me a sec."

Lily wound in his arms and took a step back. "What did you give her? She doesn't even like me? What did you give her to show up here?"

James looked away. "I helped her with something."

Lily shook her head angrily. "You made out with her, right? Oh, how could I fall for you another time? Get out, now!"  
James looked at her in surprise. "What… what?", he asked helplessly

Lily looked at him, aghast and desperate. "Just go. Go."

To Lily's surprise James just nodded and with an abrupt crack he Disapparated.

Lily sat down on her bed slowly and buried her face in her hands.

Her mother found her sobbing quietly. She came in, sat down beside her and carefully put an arm around her shoulder. She said nothing.

Lily stopped sobbing and looked up to look at her mother.

"Do you think", she began, "I should give James a second chance?"

Jane smiled. "I have no idea who James is, but when he did this", she pointed at the balloons, "he must be a nice boy."

Lily smiled wryly. "It's hideous, isn't it?"

Jane shrugged. "Some people like pink." She laughed quietly and Lily smiled. She gave her a hug and stood up.

"I actually wanted to talk to Tuney, but she's never at home, so I'm going to look for her. Do you have an idea where she could be?"

Jane shrugged and sighed quietly. "She's with this Vernon. He has a flat round the corner. But don't go near there, it's a sleazy quarter."

Lily nodded. "See you." She went down the stairs. She should forget about James for a while and take care of Petunia.

When she finally went down the street she realized how much had changed. Some houses looked older than ever, others had been renovated.

She looked at the old house of the Browns, their neighbors. The Browns lived in this house since Lily could remember. Mr and Mrs Brown were a nice couple, the age of Lily's parents. They had a son, Danny, whom Lily had hung out with when she was eleven, twelve. At least in the holidays.

This boy Danny was now sitting on a bench in front of the Browns' house and let the sun shine in his face. He opened his eyes and blinked twice. Then he saw Lily.

"Lily", he said, "is that you?"

"Danny?" Lily looked at him, surprised. "How are you?"

She was surprised how handsome he looked. His dark hair hung in his face. He was tall and looked strong when Lily neared him.

Danny beamed at her. Lily hesitated and hugged him. "I've missed you", she said smiling. He nodded. "I've missed you too. Long time no see, huh? How's school?" Lily shrugged. "Alright. I'm happy. How about you?" Danny nodded shortly. "It's OK. What are you doing?"

Lily frowned. "I'm looking for my sister. She… seems to have some… problems."

Danny looked at her seriously. "She's… complicated, Petunia is. Fights, beer, strange guys." He shrugged. "I can't help her. But if you want me to I can help you find her."

Lily gave him a wide smile. "That would be great. I have no idea where she always hangs out."

Danny shrugged. "We can just go."

Lily nodded. They turned round a corner and walked along a small street until Danny stopped in front of an old house which had a lack of tiles. Lily could see a sleazy front yard.

"This is where Vernon lives?", Lily asked hesitantly. Danny nodded. "Yes. But he doesn't seem to be here. Maybe they are at one of their favorite pubs in the center of town. Let's go."

Lily nodded. They were just going when a surprised voice shouted: "Lily?" Lily turned around.

A boy hurried towards them. He wore a too long, black coat and had long greasy black hair. His name was Severus Snape.

Lily sighed, took Danny's arm and wanted to pull him away. "C'mon, let's go."

But Severus caught up easily. His smile lighted up his usually sad face and Lily couldn't help but be happy to see him.

"Hello", he said. Lily smiled at him. "Hey, Sev. Are you alright? What are doing here?"

He shrugged. "I was actually looking for a flat."

Lily frowned. "You want to move out?"

"Yes, finally." Severus seemed to be proud of his decision. Lily nodded and said: "Good for you. I hope you'll find something. Um, Danny, this is Severus, a friend… from school. Sev, this is Danny, an old friend."

The boys shook hands. "What are y_ou_ doing here, then?", Severus asked.

Lily sighed. "Looking for Tuney. She… seems to be on booze." Severus laughed quietly. "I can help you. I think I saw her and some big guy near _Berney's _a while ago. If that helps you."

Lily beamed at him. "Can you show us the way?"

Danny interrupted. "Lily, I… know where the pub is. I could show you."

Lily smiled at him. "Sure, thanks, but Severus can come with us. I don't know, maybe you two can talk, you're both boys, so…"

Severus and Danny looked at each other, not really happy, but nodded. "Good. Then let's go."

She walked through the streets of the small town until they arrived at _Berney's_. Lily looked around, stepped into the pub and came out again. "They're not in there", she said, shrugging. Danny lifted a hand but Severus stared into a small alley. "I don't think you need to look for them anymore." He pointed at something in the alley.

Lily took a look.

Petunia sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, and murmured something. She had a beer bottle in her hand and took now and then a gulp.

Around her sat three guys. One, a big bulging young man, had put an arm around her shoulder. The others talked to each other with muffled voices.

Lily pressed her hands over her mouth. "Tuney", she whispered.

Petunia looked up. "Lily", she yelled, "what are you doin' here? Go away."

Lily could hardly understand her.

She took a step towards her but Danny grasped her arm.

The man next to Petunia looked up. "Petty, who is that?"

"My little sister", Petunia murmured. "It's alright. She's going."

Lily looked at her desperately. "I'm not. Tuney, you've got to get away from here. You're totally drunk."

Petunia managed to get up and staggered towards her. "Go", she yelled. "I'm fine."

"You're not. C'mon, I'll take you home."

"Leave her alone." The man had risen and stood behind Petunia.

"You… must be Vernon", Lily said quietly.

Suddenly she realized Petunia's behavior and condition was Vernon's fault.

Her face flushed red. Danny and Severus looked at each other, scared. Lily took a deep breath and yelled: "You asshole brought my sister here. Don't you have something better to do than to drag some girls down with you? You… how can you let her fuddle herself like this? Do you have any sense of responsibility?"

Vernon clenched her fists. "How dare you yell at me like this?", he roared. "You little…"

"Hey", Severus said angrily, "leave her alone!"

He stepped forward and Danny followed. Vernon grinned at them scornfully.

"And you think you can do what?"

Lily saw the look in Danny and Severus' eyes and cried: "Leave it, boys. Let's just go."

She grasped Petunia's arm and pulled her with her. Petunia tried to free herself but Lily's grip was stronger. Lily shouted: "Sev, I'll take Tuney home, you should do the same." She gave him a small smile and he nodded.

Lily drew her wand and Disapparated with Petunia.

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**I hope you liked it. Please read & review.**


	3. What to Do

As soon as they came to a halt in front of the Evans' house Lily let go of Petunia's struggling arm. Petunia jumped two steps away from Lily.

"What the…", she cried but stopped when she saw Lily's angry face.

"What are you _doing_?", Lily yelled. "Why are you hanging out with this…"

Petunia crossed her arms. "Don't you tell me what I have to do! Don't you tell me you care for me after leaving me alone for seven years! Don't you tell me that I'm a wreck, just because you've never drunk one single sip beer! And don't you try to rescue me from my own boyfriend!" Her voice grew louder as she spoke until it was cry.

Lily stared at her. "You know what?", she said, rather quietly, but her voice sounded warning. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you to stop. Maybe I shouldn't care for you, since you never made an effort to talk to me in all this time. Maybe I shouldn't tell you that you're a total wreck, because I found you drunk at eleven in the morning. And maybe", she yelled, "I shouldn't rescue you from a man who will, and I'm sure of that, hurt you someday."

She turned around abruptly and stormed towards the house.

She flung the door open and ran upstairs.

Dumbo came out of her room to meet her but she pushed him away.

"How can she…? Why can't she just…" Lily cried. She sat down on the floor and buried her face in her hands. She missed the old Tuney. How could Petunia have changed so much? Why did she hate Lily so much?

With a _plop _Severus appeared in her room. He looked at Lily, frightened. "Lily, are you alright?"

Lily shook her head. "It's Petunia, she's… she's being a total… whatever." Lily straightened herself. "Where's Danny?"

"I brought him home, don't worry", Severus said.

Lily stood up and managed a smile. "Thanks, Sev. I, uh, know that we've not really been friends last time we met but I want that to change. I miss you. But I can't… hang out with those guys you call your friends. They're bad, Severus. They want to join You-Know-Who as soon as they get out of school. You know that. Do you want to be like them?"

Severus hesitated. "Lily, it's not…that easy. You can't really believe we all want to join You-Know-Who. I don't…" "You don't?" Lily looked at him, expectantly. "Then say it. Tell me you don't want to join him."

Severus looked down. "Lily, I… I don't like the way my friends are acting sometimes. But I can't stop them. That's not my task. That's the task of the teachers, or Dumbledore, or…" "You haven't said it", Lily said quietly. "You do want to join him, do you?"

Severus stared at her. His voice grew angry. "Lily, stop it. Don't judge me because I hang out with some guys you don't like. That's my thing, alright? But I do want to hang out with you, Lily. We…

you know, we used to be best friends."

Lily looked down. "I appreciate what you did for me today. That you led me to Petunia and brought Danny home. But I think we can't be friends until we've sorted that thing out, you know. Maybe

you should just… leave now. Please." Her voice was urgent.

Severus nodded. He stood up in silence and left the room. A moment later Lily heard the door close.

She lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. It seemed like her sister ignored her, she'd just lost her former best friend for good and the boy who wrote her a beautiful letter and who annoyed her six whole years now seemed to leave her alone and she realized she actually she missed him.

Weird.

Lily sighed. She had to make some decisions. What to do about Petunia. What to do about Severus. And what to do about James Potter.

She decided she would do nothing right now. Why was it always her who had to make the first attempt? She would just wait for the others to apologize or something.

She stood up and went to her desk. She pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down an invitation to her best friends.

She addressed the first letter to Alice, the second to Allie and the third to Jane.

Alice had been her best friend since her second year of school. She had met Allie on the train at the beginning of her fourth year, and Jane just slipped between them and had become one of the four. Since fourth year the four of them had been inseparable. The teachers didn't bother to part them in lessons, since they would just find a way to sit next to each other in the next one.

Lily scribbled down some words to explain why they hadn't met since last day of school. Allie had been in America for two weeks, but Alice and Jane had been at home but Lily hadn't seen them.

She had been busy dealing with Petunia's moods, homework and practicing for her NEWT's.

She bound the letters to Venetia's, her owl's, foot and opened the window. When Venetia had flown away Lily sat down on the floor.

Her friends would tell her to leave Petunia, Severus and James alone and come with them to the beach or something. Maybe that was just what Lily needed.

But maybe it was not.


	4. Unexpected Revelations

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter"**

* * *

Lily's friend Allie lived in a small wizard-town named Godric's Hollow. Lily fell in love with the village as soon as she turned around to look at the sweet little houses, the beautiful colored flowers in the front yards and the nice market place in the middle. Allie fit in the scenery perfectly. She had this village character, found everything easy and made everybody laugh.

"Good to see you", she said now and gave Lily a hug. Lily smiled. "This town – village – is so beautiful. I could imagine myself living here."

Allie laughed. "I hope we'll be neighbors, then."

Lily grasped her suit case and dragged it into the little house. Allie's parents greeted her with a beam and said she could leave the trunk; they would take care of it. Lily thanked them and followed Allie outside to wait for Jane and Alice, who weren't here yet.

Allie started to speak. "Alright, I thought we go to the lake tomorrow. Today I thought we'll just chill out and talk – you know, girls stuff." She grinned. "I want to know everything about what happened with James. This is _so _romantic." "It wasn't", Lily said quickly. "It was awkward."

Allie shook her head. "Lily, he wrote you a _letter_, in which he declared he would do everything for you. If that isn't romantic I don't know what is."

Lily blushed. "Maybe that part was romantic", she admitted. "But he said he'd helped Amber with something. Probably private kiss lessons or something."

Allie snorted. "He could have helped her with school stuff. You're kind of pathetic. How can you still resist him?" She giggled.

Lily said nothing. She knew that Allie was partly right: it was possible James had helped Amber with something different than what she suspected.

But why didn't he explained to her, then?

She heard a _plop_ and Alice and Jane appeared in front of them. They beamed at them.

"We've found you", Alice yelled and hugged her friends.

Jane smiled at them. "I've brought you something", she said when they had sat down in the kitchen.

Lily's eyebrows rose when Jane fished for something in her bag. She took out four little necklaces with pendants which looked like medallions. Allie, Alice and Jane stared at them. "Wow", Alice breathed. "They look beautiful."

She was right. Lily reached for the one smiling Jane held out to her and opened the medallion carefully.

There was a picture in it. The four of them, standing side by side, smiling into the camera. Lily stood in the middle and now and then she burst out laughing. Allie stood beside her and waved. Jane sat in front of them and looked up at their friends from time to time. Alice tried to get into the picture and kept jumping into the frame.

Lily smiled at the necklace. "Jane, this is so beautiful."

Alice and Allie nodded. "Yeah. Why did you do this?", Allie asked.

Jane blushed. "I thought… We've been friends for three years now and I thought we could celebrate that. I mean, I've never had friends like you. I just wanted to thank you."

A tear rolled down her cheek and she hastily brushed it away.

Lily gave her a hug. "Don't thank us. We've been always there for each other and that won't be going to change so soon."

"She's right", Alice said. "We have your back."

Jane nodded. Her whole face seemed to shine.

Allie clasped her hands. "Alright, guys. Enough tears shed. Let's get up to my room and question Lily about James Potter!"

The other two girls cheered and ran up the stairs. Lily sighed and followed them. When she came into Allie's room the three of them were sitting on the floor. Between them lay a bottle.

"What", Lily asked warningly, "are you planning?"

"Spin the bottle", Alice answered.

Lily groaned. "We aren't kids anymore. We should talk like adults."

Jane laughed and said mocking: "You can't really say we're adults. C'mon, sit down. I guess we'll soon find out what happened between you and James."

"We'll see", Lily said angrily. "I'll start."

She turned the bottle with a jerk. Finally it stopped and pointed to Allie. She groaned. "So?", she asked.

Lily smiled. "Take a sheet of paper and write 'I'm in love with you since third grade'. To Sirius Black."

Alice laughed. "He'll turn up here in twenty seconds. But whatever. Allie, go on."

Allie didn't even blush when she wrote the words Lily told her. Just when Allie's owl flowed off Lily turned to stare at her.

"You didn't even lie", she said in astonishment. "You _are _in love with him since third grade."

Allie shrugged. "Whatever." Lily saw the smile she tried to hide. "It's my turn."

Jane and Alice started giggling. Lily kept staring at her. Allie had always said she couldn't stand Sirius and his friends. Lily would never have guessed she actually _liked _him.

When she looked down again the bottle was turning and finally landed to point at Alice.

"Do the pig dance", Allie said instantly.

Alice sighed. She bowed down to crawl and lifted her firstly her left foot, then the other one. Her left hand and her right one. With some music from the radio and Alice repeating her dance moves Lily, Allie and Jane burst out laughing.

"You're _so _hilarious", Jane yelled. Alice stopped and sat down again, grumbling.

As soon as Lily looked down at the bottle it was turning around again and now it pointed at her.

"What happened with James Potter?" Alice said, grinning.

Lily sighed. "You will be disappointed", she warned. "It was nothing like you could imagine.

Alright, so I read the letter. And yes, it was… pretty nice. He said he wouldn't annoy me anymore and said he'd do everything I'd tell him. I admit, I was kind of flattered. But then, around three weeks later, Amber visited me."

"Amber? _The A_mber?", Allie said, aghast.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, she wanted to talk to me about make-up."

Alice giggled. "Yes, I can imagine this conversation", she said amused.

"Anyway", Lily went on, "finally she went away and I went up to my room and the whole room was covered in balloons, they were everywhere. At first I found it nice but know I think it's hideous."

Jane's eyes widened. "This is _so_ romantic, what did you do?"

Lily shrugged. "Well, James Potter was in my room. He smiled at me and told me everything I read in the letter was true. And then he kissed me."

Jane, Allie and Alice gasped.

"But I… well, I took a step back and asked what he had promised Amber to show up at my house. He just said he'd helped her with something. I didn't believe him and told him to go. He actually did. I needed half an hour to remove all those balloons."

Jane chuckled. Alice shook her head. "Lily, I don't think… I don't think James made out with Amber to make her visit you. He wouldn't do that."

"Why would you know that?", Lily demanded. "Do you know him?"

Alice shrugged. "I used to hang out with him. I think I even was in love with him."

She grinned while Lily gasped.

"Before I fell in love with Frank, of course", she said quickly.

"Uh, should I tell him that?", said a voice that made the four girls jump.

"Sirius", Allie said aghast. "What are you _doing _here?"

Lily turned to look at the door. At once she recognized the familiar, attractive face and dark hair of Sirius Black. Had he heard everything they had said?

"Get out", she snapped.

Sirius laughed. "Have you already forgotten? Allie sent me a letter that made me come here instantly. So why do you complain, Lily, honey?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. He wouldn't soothe her like this.

Alice darted an angry look at him. "You won't tell James what I said, alright?"

Sirius shook his head and sat down beside her. "I don't think so. He would get too much self-confidence."

Jane smiled at him. "So you did get Allie's letter. Do you have anything to say? Do you wish to return this prove of love?"

Sirius seemed to consider. "I always knew there was something between us", he said, grinning at Allie, "and now I want to give you what you deserve."

Lily's eyes widened again when Sirius leaned forward and kissed Allie.

Alice and Jane sighed happily. As soon as it had started it ended and Sirius stood up. Allie looked at him with flushed face.

"I'm going to go. If you want to come over sometimes", he winked at them, "don't hesitate. The day after tomorrow we have a party at James'. You come?"

Alice, Allie and Jane nodded eagerly. Sirius glanced at Lily. "C'mon, Evans", he said seriously, "he'd be happy to see you."

Lily was about to snap that well she wasn't, but she hesitated. It wouldn't be fair of her.

She nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, alright", she murmured. Sirius grinned.

"Alright, then. See you girls." He waved shortly and disappeared out of sight. Allie's door slammed shut.

The girls were silent for a minute.

"Well", Alice said slowly, "that was something."

Allie seemed to glow. She was beaming at them and her eyes were twinkling.

"Well, I guess we're going to a party", Jane said dryly.

Lily sighed quietly. She would have to deal with James in two days. At least maybe she could sort that thing out.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	5. Surprising Party

**New chapter. Long one, this time. xD Disclaimer: I DO NOT own 'Harry Potter'

* * *

**

Two days later Lily stood in front of the mirror in Allie's room and grimaced. The dress she had bought the day before when she went shopping with the girls in a muggle shop looked gorgeous, but she wondered if it was a little _too _gorgeous.

Alice stood next to her. "Lily, what are you _doing_? We are waiting. You look beautiful, you know that. So what are you waiting for?"

Lily bit her lips. "Maybe I'm just going to wear jeans. They're much more comfortable…" "Lily!",

Alice screamed. "If you are not going to wear this dress I will make you."

Lily shrugged. "It looks OK, I suppose."

"C'mon already", Alice said impatiently.

Lily finally nodded. "Alright. Are we going to Floo?"

Alice nodded. "Right into James' fireplace", she said, grinning.

"Stop that", Lily snapped. "I told you I will ignore him the whole time. What's the matter with you all? Are you…wait", she stared at her friend, "are you trying to fix me up with him? I thought you hated him."

Alice rolled her eyes, turning towards the staircase. "I do not hate him, I… I don't think he had been serious with every girl he had", Lily nodded approving, "but you."

"Wait", Lily said, "he isn't serious with me. Remember that he only asks me out when all his friends are near us? He wants me to say yes so he can tell them he's the most charming, wanted, irresistible, whatever boy of school. Don't you see that?"

Alice looked stunned. "Wow", she slowly said, "Lily, you actually _care _for such things, do you? For you, a boy has to be Romeo, he has to climb up to your window, holding a red rose, and say 'Lily, I love you and I will always love you. And I want you to know that I'll always be there to comfort you in every single moment. Please, Lily, would you do me the favor and go out with me? Please? And I won't ever bother you again if you say no.' That's what you want. But Lily, we aren't in the 16th century anymore. Most boys want their friends to witness when they like a girl. It makes them strong to see that they can get the person they love to like them back. It's nothing to do with chasing a girl and letting her fall the next moment. You know, James did ask the other girls he had out in private. Not one of his dudes was with him. Not even ol' Sirius."

Lily stared at her. "Why would you know that?", she said stiffly.

"Because I watched him asking out his girls until I stopped caring for him. But we are friends now, at least we hang out together, and I know he does care for you. The question is – what about you?"

Lily was about to answer when Allie yelled: "Girls, come _on_! We are already late."

Lily walked without another word to Alice into the living room, where Allie and Jane were standing, arms crossed, with a kind of sore expressions on their face.

"Lily, what were you _doing_?", Allie said. "Do you want to be late?"

Lily was about to nod when Jane said: "Let's just go, alright?"

The others nodded.

Allie was the first to throw some of the powder in the flames which started to flicker greenish and step into them.

"James' home", she said clearly. With a crack she vanished.

Lily raised her hand. "I'll go next."

She stepped into the flames and felt a tingle under her feet.

She cleared her throat and repeated Allie's words.

"James' home."

She felt a prickle of excitement as she switched from the one fire to one in James' house.

James house. She would be at his house.

Suddenly she saw a flash of light and she stood in a different fire place. She stepped out of the flames and looked around.

She was in an incredibly small room. Everything was dark, the walls, the floor and the door in front of Lily.

She stepped towards it and pressed down the handle. It was closed.

Lily stepped back and narrowed her eyes. What was going on?...

Suddenly she heard Sirius' voice coming from nowhere.

"Your name, please."

Lily stared at the door. "Lily Evans", she said hesitantly.

"You're on our invitation list. You surely wonder why you can't open the door. Please put on one of these masks over there."

Lily turned around and saw in the corner of the room a table on which tons of masks lay. She took a green one and put it on. She tried to open the door again. It opened at once.

The room in front of her was huge and crowded. Wherever she looked where young people, wearing masks, talking and dancing to strange music.

The masks made it almost impossible to recognize someone but Lily saw Allie's dress which was a flaming red and turned towards her.

"Allie, is it you?"

"Lily?"

Allie smiled at her. "I love the idea with the masks. You can do everything you want, nobody knows it was you."

Lily grinned. "That's true. I can go kick James' ass for scaring me like that. Do you know what I thought when I was alone in this dark room?"

Allie giggled. "I wonder if Alice and Jane will be alright", she said, "Jane freaks out easily."

But the door opened and Lily saw a person wearing Jane's dress coming towards them.

"Lily? Allie?", she asked carefully.

Lily laughed. "How are you, Jane?"

Allie took her arm. "Hey. We can screw Alice up. Alright, here she comes."

They watched Alice turning around and approaching them until she stood in front of them.

She smiled. "Good idea with the mask. Allie, why aren't you looking at me?"

Allie turned around and shouted: "Who are ya callin' Allie? Don't ya recognize me? Whaddya want from me?"

People turned to look at them and Lily and Jane burst out laughing. Alice seemed aghast.

When she finally understood what was happening she blushed and looked down. "You'll get that back, right?", she snapped quietly.

Allie beamed at her. "Sure, my friend. Let's say hello to our hosts."

"Actually", Lily said quickly, "I wanted to talk to some people I know. You go, I'll find you."

She turned and walked away but she could hear Allie whisper: "How can she recognize anybody?"

A moment later Alice started to giggle loudly.

Lily rolled her eyes and looked around. She had to admit that she was impressed. She hadn't expected so many people. She had imagined just around twenty pupils from Hogwarts.

She realized she couldn't tell whether the people around her were students from Hogwarts. She couldn't even say whether they were kids or adults.

She shuddered slightly. She couldn't even see if a person was a Death Eater…

It was publicly known that the followers of You-Know-Who were called Death Eaters. Lily knew some Slytherins who actually showed off with saying they'd become one of them after finishing school. She didn't know why the teachers didn't do anything against it.

But they probably couldn't. They would take sides, then, wouldn't they?

But they had to take sides. Every teacher of school was against You-Know-Who.

And Lily was. She couldn't understand how pupils who she thought were nice and friendly could support someone like You-Know-Who.

Lily sat down on the last free chair and sighed in relief. She didn't want to go back to the others because James would be with them. And she didn't want to talk to _him_ right now.

Suddenly a voice grew loud and Lily recognized Sirius' voice.

"Hello you guys. Thanks for coming. We'd never have imagined so many of you idiots would actually show up here. Um, the idea with the masks is from James," some people started laughing, "and the rest is all mine." Lily had to smile. "So c'mon you guys, go ask someone for the following dance. You don't even have to be afraid of stepping on someone's feet since they won't know it was you because of the wonderful masks you are all wearing."

Lily froze. She didn't want to dance. She just wanted to sit here until Allie, Alice and Jane came and announced they would go now.

But instead of Allie a person came towards her. Lily thought it was a man because of his way to walk and the fact that he wore jeans.

Lily turned away but she was too late.

"May I ask for the dance?", she heard a familiar voice say.

"Danny?", she gasped. It couldn't be. This was a _wizard_ party.

"Lily?", the boy asked and she knew by the way his mouth turned into a O that she was as surprised as he was.

"What are you doing here?", she asked. "Do you know Remus or something? I mean, do you know…"

"That you're a witch? Yeah", Danny said and now he was smiling.

Lily stared at him. "You... you know? How?"

When the person next to Lily stood up to dance Danny sat down beside her. "Lily, it's alright. I won't tell anyone. Besides, I knew it for maybe as long as you do. Listen", he quickly said when Lily opened her mouth to speak, "I played football with James, alright? We're friends since… I don't even know. I met him when I was visiting my cousin who lives next door. We're just friends and so he invited me to his party. But I didn't know you were coming. It's good to see you. How's Petunia?"

Lily looked at them, mouth open. She didn't know what to say. Danny knew? Had known all the time?

"Petunia's fine", she croaked, "well, if you can call it fine. She's not talking to me." She hesitated. It was good to see him.

Before she could say another word Danny said: "Would you like to dance?"

Lily smiled at him. "Sure." She took his outstretched hand and stood up.

The music was slow and beautiful. Lily was surprised that James even had music like that.

Danny laid a hand around her waist, the other one took her hand. They slowly began to dance and soon they were in step and Lily started to enjoy herself.

"So what have you been doing?", Danny asked quietly so that he didn't annoy the other dancers. "I haven't seen you since… since you vanished with Petunia and I had to get away with this Snape character."

Lily pressed her lips together. "Severus is a nice boy", she said, "He saved you, didn't he?"

Danny snorted. "I would have got out of this situation by myself. But anyway, didn't he insult you in school with something only idiots say?"

Lily almost stopped to dance. "Did James tell you that?", she asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, yeah", Danny answered. "I think he likes you, you know. He sometimes talks about you."

Lily felt her face flush and was glad about her mask. "Whatever", she murmured. "Let's keep dancing. It's enjoying, don't you think?"

"Yes", Danny hastily said, obviously aware of the fact he only talked about others yet, "it's cool."  
They danced in silence for a while until the music grew quieter.

"Alright, you guys", a voice said and Lily realized it was Allie's. "Partner change. Just pick one out of the crowd."

Danny and Lily looked at each other. "Do you…" "Would you…" They both started speaking and laughed. "Alright, what?", Lily said and smiled.

Danny grinned. "Would you like the next dance, too?"

Lily laughed. "Of course."

The music started but this time it was faster. Lily jumped from one foot on the other and didn't stop giggling until it stopped again. Danny was laughing so loudly that the others started to look at him curiously.

"Would you like some water?", Danny asked, loudly enough so Lily could hear. She nodded.

"Please." "I'll be right back."

Danny disappeared and Lily sat down on her chair. She realized she liked to have Danny around. He was funny, friendly and sweet and Lily wished they could spend more time together. But school would start soon enough and she had to do some homework. She hadn't even got the yearly letter from school…

"Hey", a voice said. Lily turned around.

A boy was standing in front of her. At once she recognized the long black hair and the nose sticking out under his mask.

"Sev?", she gasped and stood up. "What are you doing here? You surely haven't got an invitation."

Severus took his mask off. He looked concerned.

"Lily, you got to get out of here. Quickly."

Lily narrowed her eyes at his concern. "Why? What's going on, Severus?"

He flinched when she said his name. "Some of my… friends. They try to screw up your friends' little party."

Lily's eyes widened. "You mean Death Eaters are coming?"

Severus flinched again. "They're not all… whatever. I don't want them to hurt you. Please, Lily." He looked so concerned and sweet that Lily took his hand. "No, you get out of here. I've got to warn the others."

Severus bit his lips. "Alright", he finally said. "But tell them I wasn't the one who'd come up with this. I tried to hold them back, but they wouldn't listen."

Lily smiled weakly. "Get out. I'll be fine."

Severus hesitated. "Alright. Take care, Lily."

She nodded. The others had started to dance again and Lily tried to get through the crowd.

Finally she got to the kitchen in which six pupils sat on a large couch. She recognized Allie's red dress and turned towards her.

"Allie, c'mon over here", she said quietly.

Allie turned to look at her. "Whaddya want from me?", she said loudly.

Lily stared at her. She was drunk.

"Allie, c'mon", she begged. "You've got to tell the others that some Slytherin want to crash the party."

"But Lils", Allie said. Her mask had got out of place and her lipstick smeared all over her cheeks.

"Why don't ya tell 'em yourself? Guys", she turned around to the others who were watching them

curiously, "Lily wants to tell you somethin'."

Lily rolled her eyes and took a step towards them.

"Lily, come and sit down", Alice sat and pointed at the empty place next to her. Remus Lupin raised a hand and smiled at her. "Hey, Lily. How are you doing?"

Lily smiled back. Remus was one of her friends, even thought he was a Marauder.

"I'm good, thanks, but I have to tell you something…"

Allie started giggling. "Lily, why are you still wearing your mask? Everybody here knows who you are." She started laughing so loudly that some of the dancers looked at her in confusion.

Lily felt growing anger inside her and turned around to look at the two boys who were staring at her.

"What did you give her? Why's she so drunk?", she yelled.

The left one who Lily supposed was Sirius with his long dark hair lifted his hands. "She wanted a beer and we didn't know… we didn't think…"

"Yeah, that's exactly what you're never doing, thinking, right?", Lily snapped. She took a deep breath. "Whatever. I'm supposed to tell you that some Slytherins are coming to crash your party. But that's not my problem. My problem", she said angrily and glanced at Allie, "is to bring my friends home safely."

Sirius, James and Remus stared at her. "What do you mean, Slytherins are coming?", Remus asked.

"How would you know?"

Lily hesitated, trying to drag Allie to her feet. "I… just know, alright? Just tell the guest to go and shut the Floo network down."

Sirius kept staring at her. "Snape's here, right?", he asked.

Lily nodded slowly. "But he hasn't got anything to do with it", she said quickly. "I know it. He was the one who warned us."

Jane stood up. "She's right, guys. Tell them to go. Even if it's just a lie you shouldn't endanger the people here. Are muggles here as well?"

Lily nodded. "A friend of mine", she said and glanced at James. He didn't look at her; he was searching for his wand.

Alice nodded. "Lily, you'll get this friend of yours out of here. We'll wait here for you. Hurry."

Lily nodded. She fought her way back through the crowd to the chair she'd left.

Danny stood up when he saw her. "Where've you been?", he said smiling.

Lily took a breath. "I have to bring you out of here. There's a… problem. Everyone has to leave."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Why? Lily, I don't under…"

Suddenly there was a _crack _and Lily turned around. Someone was trying to break through the door of the Floo network room…

Danny's eyes widened. "What's going on?"

Lily took his hands. "I'll tell you later. Promise me you'll go out of his house _now _and go back to your cousin. Please."

Danny nodded. "Okay, Lily. But then you have to promise you'll call me tomorrow. Alright?"

Lily nodded. "Go."

She watched Danny heading to the front door and going out.

She heard Sirius' voice saying: "You guys, sorry to tell you but the party's over. We have some uninvited guests. Please leave now through the front door. We'll redo this, promise."

Lily saw how the other guest looked around concerned and slowly approached the front door. She ran back to the others and saw Jane and Alice holding Allie. They had their wands in their hands.

She drew her wand herself. Remus turned to her. "Here's Lily, now go!"

Alice and Jane nodded. They laid Allie's arms around their shoulders and made their way towards the door.

Lily didn't move. She looked at the door of the Floo room.

It finally burst open. A dozen disguised figures stepped inside. When they saw that most of the guests had already gone they turned around to look at each other.

Lily didn't dare to move. Jane, Alice and Allie were finally outside. Now she was the last in the room apart from Sirius, James and Remus.

The cloaked persons turned towards them.

"So we're too late?", a voice snarled. "You've been warned. Let me guess… Mulciber? Johnson? Snape?"

Lily flinched when he said Severus name. She didn't want him exposed.

Lily looked at the boys next to her. Remus threw her a warning glance and pointed carefully at the kitchen door. "Get out of here", he whispered, too quietly for the people to overhear.

Lily had little doubt that they were Death Eaters. They wore black cloaks and black mask and only their mouth stuck out. And she finally recognized the voice. It was Rodolphus Lestrange. He had graduated from Hogwarts a year ago.

He was known to have joined You-Know-Who.

Lily swallowed hard. She wanted to get out of here.

Slowly she took some steps back but Lestrange saw her.

"What is this Mudblood doing here? I thought you at least had taste, Potter."

Lily bit her lips and looked at James. He stared at Lestrange coldly.

"Get out of my house now, Lestrange", he growled. "And take those gits behind you with you."

"So you already start insulting me?" Lestrange chuckled. "I don't think so."

Remus placed himself in front of Lily. "Go", he said quietly. "Now."

Lily turned around and ran. She saw the flashes of lights trying to hit her but she jumped out of the

way. She saw the door in front of her and grasped the handle.

"Do you already want to go?", she heard the shrill voice of Bellatrix Black. Lily whispered: "_Expelliarmus_!" She couldn't think of any other spell. But it worked. She saw Bellatrix' wand fall

out of her hands. Before the screaming girl could find it Lily was out.

She didn't turned to look around. She just ran out of the garden onto the street and saw Allie, Alice and Jane standing behind a tree in a garden of the neighbor.

She raced towards them and jumped over the low fence.

She heard Alice cry: "Lily! Are you okay?"

Lily fell down onto the grass and gasped for breath.

She felt the eyes of her friends on her. "I'm fine", she managed to say. "But I don't know what about the others. Remus, Sirius and James are still in there. I think they're Death Eaters. They attacked and I managed to get out of the house."

She looked at her friends. "I shouldn't have gone out. I should have stayed and helped them."

Alice shook her head. "No, Lily. _We_ have to find help. You know what, I'll go and fetch James' parents. They're on a concert in London. You go back to Allie's and stay there. Alright?"

Lily nodded sadly. She watched Alice Apparate and stood up.

"Let's go. We should get away from here."

Together they lifted Allie to her feet and Lily took her wand. "I'll do it."

She concentrated on Allie's house and took three steps. She felt like being pressed through a large pipe until they stood in front of Allie's house at last.

Lily sighed in relief. "Let's get her up there."

Together she managed to drag Allie up the stairs into her room onto her bed.

Jane brought a washrag and dabbed Allie's face. She giggled. "I don't think I've ever seen Allie drunk." Lily smiled wryly. "I hope you won't soon again."

She thought about James, Sirius and Remus. Alice. She hoped they would be alright.

She sighed and leaned back against the wall. Now she had to take care of Allie. Then she would see what she could do.

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Please review.**


	6. What She Could Do

**Next chapter. Disclaimer: I DO NOT own 'Harry Potter'

* * *

**

The next morning Jane and Lily sat at the kitchen table and ate silently. Allie's parents were already off to work, but they wouldn't have left until Jane and Lily had promised to take care of Allie and call them when they needed help.

Lily and Jane had agreed. Alice hadn't come back and both of the girls were worrying. Allie hadn't been able to do anything the last day. Lily and Jane had waited for Alice until they both agreed she wouldn't come back soon.

Now Lily put away her spoon and sighed. She wasn't really hungry.

She watched Jane eat up and lean back.

"So what are we going to do now?", she asked.

Lily shrugged. "I suppose we should take care of Allie… maybe we could, you know, send an owl to Remus."

Jane nodded. "Let's do that, then."

They went upstairs to find Allie's bed empty. Shortly after that she came into the room, snapping: "Don't talk to me."

Jane threw a look at Lily and they left the room, taking Allie's owl with them.

They settled down in the living room. Jane took out a sheet of paper and a quill.

"OK", Jane said, "what to write?"

Lily considered shortly. "Um, just ask if they're okay."

Jane nodded and wrote the words down. "Anything else?"

Lily bit her lips. "Say thanks for helping me."

Jane smiled at her. "Someone in particular?"

Lily avoided her look. "No."

While Jane sent Allie's owl off Lily stared out of the window.

She was worried Remus or one of the others were hurt. She would admit that.

But she wouldn't admit that she was about to race to James' and ask if they were alright.

They talked about nothing really, until a knock at the window interrupted them. It was Allie's owl. Lily swallowed hard.

"It's from Remus", Jane said after she'd taken the letter.

Lily took a deep breath. "Can I… can I have it?"

Jane threw her a sympathetic look. "Of course."

With trembling fingers Lily opened the letter.

She recognized Remus' writing at once.

_Hey, Jane,_

_It's nice to hear that you care. I hope Allie's better. And Lily, we didn't help you. You're an extraordinary witch, that's all._

_I'm fine, thanks for asking. The Slytherins or Death Eater or whatever they were had been arrested after James' parents had come home. I don't know if you care but Sirius and James aren't doing so well. They're at St. Mungo's hospital. Maybe you can come and see me? I'm still at James'. I don't know where to go. Alice's here too. You can bring the others if you want._

_Hoping to see you soon,_

_Remus_

Lily stared at the letter. Jane looked at her expectantly. "What does it say?"

"We… we have to go", she said and stood up. "We got to get over there. C'mon, we have to…"

"Lily." Jane's voice was calm but her grip at Lily's arm was surprisingly strong. "What does it say?"

Lily felt her eyes getting wet.

"Remus is alright", she murmured. "But Sirius and James are hurt. They're at the hospital."

Jane's eyes widened. "Oh shit", she whispered. "So what are we going to do?"

"We have to get to Remus. He's alone, I think. Well, Alice's with him. But we should get over there." She paused. "I don't think Allie's going to come with us."

"I so am."

They turned around. Allie stood in the door, wearing a bathrobe. Her hair was wet of showering and her eyes were flashing.

Lily had to smile. "Alright. Go dress, then."

Allie grimaced. "We don't have to go right now, do we?"

Lily looked down. "Then I'll go. I have to know… I want to know if they're okay."

Jane nodded. "She's right. You can join us later on."

Allie took a deep breath. "Just wait two minutes, right?"

Lily and Jane watched her hurry up the stairs disappearing into her room.

They waited for five minutes until Allie came down again. She was fully dressed, her hair was dry and she smiled at them.

"Let's go."

They Apparated in front of James' front door and Jane pressed the bell.

The door opened after a few moments.

Remus looked pale. His eyes were swollen and he pressed his lips together.

"C'mon in", he said quietly.

They stepped inside.

The rooms which were so nicely decorated the last day appeared to be destroyed. The chairs and tables weren't whole anymore and some of the windows were broken.

Lily drew in a sharp breath.

"Oh shit", Jane whispered.

Remus tried to smile weakly. "It looks pretty terrible, eh? But we can fix it, we just… we didn't want to yet…"

"There you are!"

Alice came round the corner. When she saw them she smiled and hugged them. "I would have come over but I thought… I couldn't leave Remus alone."

Remus blushed. "I would have been fine, but it was nice to have company."

Alice nodded. They said nothing for a moment until one of the windows burst open and a brown owl came flying into the room and sat down on Remus' arm.

"Finally", he murmured. He took the letter off and turned away.

Lily looked at Alice questioningly. She said quietly: "It's from James' parents."

She turned to stare at Remus. He was frowning but at the end of the letter he sighed in relief.

"The doctors say they're going to be okay. We can go over there if we want."

Lily breathed out slowly. They were okay.

Slowly she sank to the floor. They would be okay…

"Well, let's go, then", Allie said, grinning.

Jane nodded. "Alright. Are you coming, Lily?"

Lily hastily nodded and stood up. Alice hesitated. "You know, I think I'm going over to Frank's. He surely wants to know what's going on."

"Do that", Remus said. "And thanks for staying with me."

Alice smiled, stepped outside and disappeared with a _plop_.

Lily looked at him. "Do you want to come with us?"

Remus hesitated shortly. "Yeah, I think I will. Let's go."

They stepped outside.

Lily took her wand to Disapparate to the wizard hospital. Soon she stood in front of a large, old department store. There were large signs on the doors that read 'Closed for Refurbishment'.

Remus leaned close to the glass and said, apparently to the ugly dummy in the window display: "We're here to see Sirius Black and James Potter."

The dummy nodded once and beckoned with a finger for them to step through the glass. Remus was the first to step through, Allie, Jane and finally Lily followed.

They stood in a reception area where some witched and wizards sat, obviously waiting to be treated.

Remus appeared to know the way since he didn't ask the receptionist but walked over to the lift.

Wordless, they stepped in. A moment later the door opened and Remus stepped out. They followed him into one of the countless rooms. Before entering, Lily took a deep breath.

There were only two beds, both taken. Sirius sat up when he saw them coming in. He gave them a bright smile.

"I have guests, I see. Welcome, ladies, Moony. Sit down."

Lily sat down on of the chairs near his bed, saying nothing. She tried to get a look at James but his bed was hidden behind curtains.

For a moment they were silent until Remus spoke. "So, when do you get out of here?"

Sirius shrugged. "Tomorrow, probably. I don't even know why they kept me here, I'm totally fine. It was just a stunning spell." He smiled when he saw Lily's scared face. "It's fine, Lily. Don't worry about me. Worry about ol' James, if you want to. He was hit by some strange spell the Healers have to examine first."

Lily stared at him. "What?", she asked, her voice trembling.

"He was kind of blue when they found him", Sirius said seriously, "but he's a normal color now. They said we should leave him alone."

Lily got up at once and went over to the other bed. Carefully she pushed aside the curtains.

James' eyes were closed. He had a bruise on his forehead and was pale.

A tear rolled down her cheek and landed on James' hand.

"I'm sorry I was a total idiot", she whispered. "I'm really sorry. I just want you to be healthy again. You told me that you would do everything for me. Now you can prove it. Get healthy. Please."

For a moment she thought James' eyes opened but then Allie appeared next to her.

"C'mon", she hissed. "The nurse is here."

Quickly they turned away and sat down. An older woman came in, growling. She glanced at James' bed and snapped: "Yer'll leave 'im alone, won't yer?"

They nodded quickly. Remus hesitated. "We can stay, if you want."

Sirius grinned. "No, you go. Make sure the house is clean, though. I'll examine it tomorrow."

Remus smiled and they made one of these complicated handshakes.

After they left the room Allie turned to Lily.

"So you don't care about James, huh?"

Lily shot her an angry look. "Cut it out, alright?", she snapped.

Allie shrugged. "I think that's answer enough", she murmured.

Lily turned to Jane. "We'll Floo back to Allie's, alright?"

Jane nodded. She turned to Remus. "We'll see you later. You'll be okay?"

Remus smiled. "Sure. You heard him, I have work to do."

Lily looked down. "Remus, you're a very brave person, you know. Thank you. I don't think I'd have been able to rescue myself without you."

"Thanks, Lil."

They watched him leaving the hospital, and Lily turned to the fire places at the wall next to them. In a box beside the fire was the powder they had to use.

Lily took some of it and threw in into the flames which turned green. She stepped inside and said: "Allie's house."

A moment later she stepped out into Allie's living room.

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Please review.**


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